An example of a microminiature CCD image pickup device used as an ultrasmall image pickup device for an electronic medical endoscope is shown.
Microminiature CCD image pickup devices used for electronic medical endoscopes have been made as small as possible in order to reduce pain to which the patient is subjected from swallowing the microminiature CCD image pickup device when a patient's stomach is to be examined, for example.
To try such miniaturization, the external dimensions of the tip part of the microminiature CCD image pickup device may be miniaturized and the length of the microminiature CCD image pickup device may be shortened. Miniaturizing the external dimensions and shortening the length will both promote ease of guiding when the microminiature CCD image pickup device passes through a passage from the patient's mouth, e.g., the esophagus leading to the stomach, and will reduce physical pain to the patient. Furthermore, miniaturization of the microminiature CCD image pickup device makes it possible to increase the degree of freedom of operation in the stomach to be examined, contributes to improving the results of the examination, and reduces physical pain to the examined patient.
A microminiature CCD image pickup device used for an electronic medical endoscope, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, has optical glass (21), CCD chip (22), ceramic (28), lead (29), and insulated circuit board (25) disposed side by side in the length direction of the microminiature CCD image pickup device as shown.
An electronic circuit for signal processing, for example, chip components (26) and (27) with transistors, capacitors, or the like, are mounted on insulated circuit board (25) to make it possible to process the image pickup output produced by CCD chip (22) as signals and send them outside of the patient.
A power feed wire for supplying power to drive CCD chip (22) from the outside is also accommodated in insulated circuit board (25).
TAB (Tape Automated Bonding) tapes (23) and (24) are disposed between CCD chip (22) and lead (29) and connect the electrode of CCD chip (22) and wiring patterns formed in lead (29).
TAB tapes (23) and (24) further perform the role of power feed wires that feed power to CCD chip (22).
Here, only one TAB tape, for example, only TAB tape (23), would be sufficient. As shown in the figure, more than one can also be furnished, e.g., TAB tape (24) in addition to TAB tape (23).
Lead (29) is soldered to the wiring patterns formed on CCD chip (22) and the surface of insulated circuit board (25) via TAB tape (23). It is furnished to connect first chip component (26) and second chip component (27) mounted on insulated circuit board (25).
In this way, in the microminiature CCD image pickup device (2) shown in FIG. 3, CCD chip (22) and insulated circuit board (25) are connected by TAB tape (23) and lead (29).
The external surface of microminiature CCD image pickup device (2) is treated so that, even if these components of microminiature image pickup device (2) touch the lining of the patient's esophagus or the stomach wall, they will not be damaged.
Note that, in order to illuminate the part examined, e.g., the inside of the stomach, light is applied from the outside via an optical fiber, for example, to the microminiature CCD image pickup device, but the lighting instrument is not directly related to this invention, so it is omitted from the figure.
A cable (not shown) that will guide microminiature CCD image pickup device (2) to the lining of the esophagus and that is flexible with a certain degree of strength is connected to microminiature CCD image pickup device (2) that is constituted in this way.
A power feed wire that supplies power to CCD chip (22), an optical fiber for lighting, and a signal transmission wire, for example, an optical fiber, for carrying image signals picked up by CCD chip (22) outside of the patient are housed inside that cable.
For example, when microminiature CCD image pickup device (2) reaches the inside of the patient's stomach, the part of the stomach examined will be lighted by the illumination instrument, not shown, the imaging results from CCD chip (22) are carried out as electrical signals, and the signals are processed via TAB tape (23) and lead (29) by chip components (26) and (27) mounted on insulated circuit board (25) and that perform signal processing. The results are carried outside the patient via the cable and are output to the display device of the main unit of the electronic medical endoscope.
In microminiature CCD image pickup device (2) illustrated in FIG. 3, insulated circuit board (25) on which chip components (26) and (27) are mounted is manually soldered to lead (29). The problem has been that a manual operation is required, and on top of that, the processing time is long.
Furthermore, first chip component (26) and second chip component (27) are disposed side by side in the length direction on insulated circuit board (25), making the insulated circuit board (25) longer. As a result, there has been a limit to the reduction of length L1 of microminiature CCD image pickup device (2). Only two chip components are shown in FIG. 3, but when the number of chip components becomes larger, microminiature CCD image pickup device (2) will become longer in the length direction in accordance with that number.
Thus, the purpose of this invention is to provide a microminiature image pickup device where the microminiature CCD image pickup device can be shortened in the length direction.
Another purpose of this invention is to provide a microminiature image pickup device for which operations, e.g., assembly processing, can be reduced, and processing time can be shortened.